Knowledge is Power The Women’s health blog of B-wom

If you’re like most women, you’ve probably at least heard of Kegels. But did you know that they are for more than preventing bladder leaks? It’s true! In the mid-1940’s, Dr. Arnold Kegel developed an exercise to help women who were experiencing urinary continence. Many women who tried this exercise found that, in addition to having better control over their bladders, they were also experiencing better sex.

Author: Sofia Fournier
Postpartum or after birth is a stage of life that is often ignored, just simply swept under the rug. We don’t think about what is going to happen to us after giving birth, and we don't ask too many questions. During pregnancy we are mainly focused on the here and now, and the furthest we think into the future is of the day we’ll be giving birth. But ladies, postpartum exists, postpartum is hard but it’s beautiful too, though at times it can be much less idyllic than we imagined it to be. In this post I'm going to try to give you an overview of the after birth, including physical and emotional changes and my advice on both a professional level as well as a personal level in my experience as a mother.

There is a lot of talk about ‘mummy tummy’ lately. What to do about diastasis recti, why it happens, and why healing it matters. For many it doesn’t matter to them why it happens, or even why it needs to be healed – they just want it gone! Well girls – it is important to know why it happens and why healing it matters and knowing this information will actually help you get rid of it too!

Constipation is a common problem and affects many women who end up accepting it as a part of life. What you maybe don’t know is that, over time, constipation can damage your pelvic floor. Find out why and how to fight the problem: advice, habits and exercises for relieving stasis of the lower bowel from its root.

Author: Erin Jackson, JD, MAThere are two floral potholders on metal stirrups, adding to the lunacy of the situation. Lying there in a paper gown that makes a crunching sound as it collapses into the paper rolled over the table, I reluctantly slide towards my doctor, who’s gesturing for me to come closer. I’m here for myself, for my intimate health. So I gingerly extend each foot to a stirrup, resting them on the potholders. Peering over my knees, I notice that I didn’t even match my socks this morning, and then my doctor’s head appears between the potholders. She grabs her light, moves its glare between the potholders, and gently taps my knees. “Just relax your knees now.”

If you’re a female runner, be aware of how running affects your pelvic floor, and learn how to take care of it and prevent problems like urine leakage or organ prolapse.
According to Kathrine Switzer, the first female runner to participate in a marathon in the United States, “the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other can change your life.’’ If you are a female runner, you know that running is not only a test of mental toughness, but also physical toughness. In addition to the most common injuries, running is also a contributing factor to the weakening of a woman’s pelvic floor that may result in problems such as urinary incontinence or organ prolapse.

Post by MammaQiAfter birth your body starts a new process and undergoes many changes. Postpartum nutrition is important because you need foods that provide you energy, help you combat anemia and accelerate wound healing. Learn what to eat to improve postpartum recovery!

Doing pelvic floor exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor offers many benefits, on both physical and emotional levels, and requires a relatively small time commitment. The pelvic floor exercise routines you’ll find in the Bwom app (available on App Store or Play Store) contain kegel exercises and hypopressive exercises and can be done in just 10 minutes- a small investment of time for big gains in your health and quality of life.

Does the use of Ben Wa Balls have the same benefits as Kegel exercises? Are Ben Wa Balls indicated for Urinary Incontinence Problems?

Over the past few years there has been a lot of hype over the use of Ben Wa Balls, Kegels, and Smart Kegel Devices. It's wonderful that more and more women are learning to exercise their pelvic floor.
However, when you want to find reliable sources on what exercises are best to practice (either as a preventative measure or as a solution to problems like urinary incontinence), they are often scattered and unreliable. Word of mouth often creates myths like that "I can train my pelvic floor just with Chinese balls", while online, professional information is often confused with advertisements of products that promise more than 50 shades of Grey. In addition, it use to be generalized information that doesn't consider that every woman and every state of life is different.

Abdominal pressure caused by sneezing, coughing, vomiting, jumping, or weight lifting, can cause urine leakage and pelvic organ prolapse (can be identified as a heavy feeling in the vagina) in women that have a weakened pelvic floor. In this blogpost we give you recommendations and techniques to avoid leakage when coughing and sneezing. This way you can protect your body and pelvic area.